DACA

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday handed the Trump administration a setback over the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which shields hundreds of thousands of young immigrants from deportation.

The court declined to take up a key case dealing with the Obama-era DACA — for now.

The high court said an appeals court should hear the case first. The result is DACA will stay in place until or if the Supreme Court takes it up.

The Senate failed to pass any immigration legislation before a self-imposed Friday deadline, leaving lawmakers with no plan to address the roughly 700,000 immigrants who stand to lose legal protections as early as March 5.

The defeat follows a rocky 24 hours of negotiations on a bipartisan bill that failed following a veto threat from President Trump. By a 39-60 vote, senators rejected a White House-backed plan that became a partisan lightning rod after Trump insisted his plan was the only one he would sign.

A federal judge in New York has ruled that the Trump administration cannot end the Obama-era program designed to protect from deportation young immigrants brought to the United States illegally as children.

The opposing leaders of the U.S. Senate shared a stage at the University of Louisville on Monday, the same day the chamber is set to begin an open debate on bills dealing with immigration.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer tried to reassure an audience of mostly students that the Senate would be able to navigate a divided political climate to find solutions.

But Schumer still said the immigration debate would be a test for lawmakers.

The Senate voted to begin debate on immigration Monday, launching an unusual process that could lead to a bipartisan immigration fix — or leave Congress with no solution for the hundreds of thousands of immigrants who stand to lose legal protections by March 5.

Two-thirds of Americans say people brought to the United States as children and now residing in the country illegally should be granted legal status — and a majority are against building a wall along the border with Mexico, according to a new NPR/Ipsos poll.

Hours after the U.S. government announced it would again begin processing renewal applications for the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals due to a federal court order, President Trump claimed that the program — which has granted a temporary legal reprieve to people who were brought to the U.S. illegally as children — was "probably dead."

The DREAM Act has failed to pass when Democrats have held complete control of government; when Republicans have held all the cards; and in periods when the two parties have split control of the White House, Senate and House.

But lawmakers from both parties hope to secure permanent legal status for people protected by the expiring Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals , or DACA, program and they are trying to achieve some sort of solution over the next two weeks.

Congress, once again, finds itself days away from a potential government shutdown, and a fight over immigration could stand in the way of a deal to prevent it.

"It could happen," Trump told reporters Wednesday. "Democrats are really looking at something that is very dangerous for our country. They are looking at shutting down. They want to have illegal immigrants in many cases, people that we don't want in our country, they want to have illegal immigrants pouring into our country."

Western Kentucky University student Angel Enriquez is one of an estimated 700,000 people who are uncertain of their future after the rollback of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program.

DACA temporarily defers deportation and allows work permits for those brought to the U.S illegally as children.

It was created as an executive order by President Obama in 2012. President Trump has cancelled DACA, putting pressure on Congress for a permanent resolution.

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WKU student Angel Enriquez talks to WKU Public Radio about life as a DACA recipient.

With the Oct. 5 deadline for young immigrants to apply to renew their status under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, a refugee resettlement center in Warren County, Kentucky has been helping some of them take this next step to an uncertain future.

The International Center of Kentucky in Bowling Green has helped 24 DACA participants apply to renew the status that protects them from deportation.

But International Center Executive Director Albert Mbanfu said these applications do not provide peace of mind for young people seeking to renew their DACA status.

“Many of come in and question if their situation will change, or they will probably want to send them back, especially considering that they have their addresses and phone numbers and everything in the hands of the federal government. So there’s a lot of worry and they express that when they come in to renew their DACA applications.”

An effort by a Warren County high school principal to help notify students about an upcoming deadline for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, caused one parent to complain about 'profiling.'

It's one example of how schools are struggling to navigate the sensitive territory related to race and immigration.

Warren County Public Schools received a notice from the Migrant Legal Action Program asking them to remind students about the Oct. 5 deadline to apply to renew their DACA status. Without the approved status, they could be deported.